Alan Arata: National Boys Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year (2017-18)

The NFHS is proud to name Alan Arata of Lewis-Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado as the 2017-18 Boys Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year!

As a 15-year veteran of swimming and diving, Coach Alan Arata of Colorado Springs, CO has come to understand the value of hard work and dedication. He has also learned the value of "preparing to win." Though he'll admit that preparation doesn't always lead to a win, it always leads to doing one's best. This is the value that he instills in all of his students and encourages them to apply it to all aspects of their lives. For these reasons, Coach Alan Arata of Lewis-Palmer High School has been named the 2017-18 NATIONAL Boys Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year!

Coach Arata's philosophy of athletics is reflected in his primary goal when training athletes: to change the athlete’s mindset to believe that something is possible that they once considered impossible. In order to do this, he must "change their true expectations" and this means that he must teach them self-discipline, persistence, goal setting and often, teach them how to learn, how to be "coachable". As a coach, he wants to instill in his athletes three other traits: teamwork (or team accountability), social skills and excellent sportsmanship.

His personal philosophy is to "always prepare to win." This means setting up an athlete to win or to better their opponent. As a coach, he must also prepare to win by arranging the line-up to place athletes in the best possible positions against the other team. Preparing to win does not guarantee winning. But, he has found that life is not about winning, rather, it is about the "preparation to do one’s best." All these integral pieces to his philosophy are life-long traits that will help young athletes become productive members of society and will serve them long after their competitive careers are over.

See all of the 2017-18 National Coach of the Year recipients by viewing our press release.